Abstract:

Building on existing spatial analyses of second language writing research, this study maps the geographies of the field’s work in an effort to better understand the shifting boundaries that encompass the field, the alliances on which second language writing scholars can build, and the means by which scholars can initiate more effective academic divisions of labor or symbiotic partnerships. The study attempts to develop more detailed mappings of second language writing that move from existing theoretical models to more in-depth representations of the field’s borders, boundaries, and intersections. These comprehensive mappings of second language writing derive from an attempt to understand the changing scope and foci of the field as it has developed and from an effort to look for references to influences on the field’s research. Therefore the study examines how geographical and institutional locations, funding opportunities, legislation, and professional organizations shape second language writing research. The study also draws on interviews with five second language writing researchers in an attempt to identify other influencing factors in the development of second language writing research questions. The resulting mappings do not replace existing models of second language writing research. Rather, the mappings inform an overarching model of interdisciplinary research with a specific example focusing on second language writing’s research intersections with writing across the curriculum. These spatial representations, in turn, contribute to the identification of a series of goals for future second language writing interdisciplinary work.